1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a utility vehicle which is self propelled and is controlled by a central processing unit to follow a predetermined route, and more specifically, to a lawn mower.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art includes various systems wherein a lawn mower or harvester includes sensors for sensing uncut grass, wires in the ground, obstacles, or other devices to position itself. Some of these are discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,887,415 to Martin and 5,323,593 to Cline et al. The use of light to sense the path is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,751,030 to Null and 4,603,753 to Yoshimura et al. A tape recorder is used to record the path in U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,939 to Geislinger. A distance measuring system employing ultra-sonic waves is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,355. An electro-optical and microcomputer for automatic guidance is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,482,960.
However, there is a need for a lawn mower which is user friendly for the average home owner to program to repeatedly mow a lawn of a particular configuration.